All changes in 2015
Good Morning, Having just finally finished with my succession 5.5 years after the death of my late husband who was British and having read through the various replies Mary gave you the soundest advice. Go directly to an Advocate, they are basically barristers and understand the law, notaires have vague limited knowledge of the law, they are basically the "accountants" for the deceased. Even if you have the tantine clause and other safeholds in place, the laws have been changing just about every 2 years on this and as everyone has different circumstances, I would strongly advise you to pay the money and have peace of mind - pay the professional.
Emotions run high and no matter how wonderfully you get on and feel a part of the family no truer words were spoken than "weddings and funerals" can bring out the worst in people. At the end of the day, I have peace of mind, happiness, joy and by God's grace was able to keep my home after 21 years of dedicating my life to my late husband, his 2 daughters and their children. - Sadly, due to the succession, I have a lot, but no longer have the people in my life who I considered family for 21 years. But I do have something that many cannot say I have no regrets and very happy. I finally found a French advocat who spoke English, but did not understand the subtle nuances and I know mistakes were made due to that fact, so if you would like to message me, I can give you the name of my late husband's daughters advocate who is just in Kent in England I believe - trust me, out of the three they hired, he was the best. Bon courage.
We are in the same situation with children from prior marriages. When we moved to France in '02, we went to a notaire who advised the tontine clause to resolve our problem. We purchased a home shortly after and had that clause inserted. In 2010, we sold our first home and bought another home, and again we made sure that the tontine clause was in the sales contract and the deed and this time that clause cost, I think, 300ā¬.
My understanding of the tontine is the same as Graham Lees'. No one has to ask any children to do anything. The property belongs to the sole survivor to do with as he or she pleased. We were actually warned against the other clause where you have to have a French marriage clause in the contract as children would still have an interest in the property. The widow/widower would only have the right to live there. That certainly didn't suit us. We have held off on doing wills [I am American, my hubby, British] until next year and there is more clarification.
David, quite a lot of us are monitoring the situation and hope that something official will be produced.
What happens if your French house is your second home and you are English which is your residency?
Morning all, I would also like to know, if you have a house here in France and it is your only house on the planet, you are a single mother and have one child, but a non resident, you die and leave your child your house, what are the tax implications for the child if they sell. Question 1. Question 2 if I remain a non resident and don't die.......for now!!....when I sell......to re buy say here or another country again what are the tax implications.......of non resident and resident...........after selling?
The law is changing.
Next August you will be able to choose which country's laws on inheritance you want to apply to your property in France - so problem solved if you opt for English law.
We are already putting plans in place so that this can happen as soon as the Law changes.
Meantime, you can ask the children to waive their rights to inheritance. They have to do this in front of a Notaire with a recognised translator present so the Notaire can be sure they understand what is happening.
That is the position as I understand it - feel free to disabuse me!
Dear Libby
I suggest an avocat rather than a notaire in fact. If you message me, i can give you some suggestions, and further info.
From 1 August 2015 foreign born nationals resident in France can opt to write wills in accordance with the laws of their own birth country. I will certainly be taking advantage of this if I'm still around!
That doesnāt seem to stack up with what our understanding is about en tontine.
We are married with one (now) adult offspring who is married with one child. Neither of us have been in relationships before.
When we bought our little patch of France, the research we did before signing suggested that we include an en tontine clause. This we did. Our Notaire wasnāt phased by this; he mentioned that quite a few English clients went along this route.
Our understanding about en tontine is that it is basically a time ābombā. When the first partner dies, the contract reverts back to the date of signing and is then as if the surviving partner was the only signatory to the purchase and therefore then owns the asset in itās entirety. There are no inheritance issues between married partners and the other heirs to the estate have to wait until the second death to claim their inheritance.
It was explained to us that it wasnāt a āperfectā solution but one of a number of options. It seemed then to closely match what exists generally in English law.
Iām not sure if that helps.
Hello, youāre right, often get conflicting opinions even from notairesā¦possibly due to different circumstances in every case. And yes, property always comes under French inheritance law and will probably stay that wayā¦
Iām in a similar situation and itās still not sorted 19 years after my husbandās death! I want to sell now and his children donāt want to sign to allow me toā¦
When we bought 22 years ago, he had 3 children from first marriage and the notaire drew up the āacte de venteā in my name only to avoid inheritance problems/obligatory inclusion of children AND all divorced wives etc etc BUT my husband didnāt like that so was done in joint names. Luckily we signed the āacte de dernier vivantā which gives surviving spouse the right of occupancy. This may be a good thing for you to do?
Ask at your Mairie if thereās a help/advice centre locally (here itās called CLIC), often for over 50s and although in French, they can be very useful helping to negotiate the murky waters of French administration channels!
Bon courage
Hi Libby, that is all very scary. I hope someone can help. I need to know about this kind of thing too. Its seems to be a minefield. I have witnessed one horrible story where a widow was forced to sell her nice house by her children (she had lived there for 40 years) and rent a room from a friend! All because the children wanted their share of the money!
Hi all, I know this is an old post but as a French notaire it upsets me that so many of you have gotten wrong and/or contradictory information. Anyway if anyone came up with questions, Iād gladly help since I specifically deal with international inheritance cases (mostly with the US). Donāt hesitate! Cheers!
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Hi Alex, hope you get to see this messageā¦me and my sister lost our dad in June this year who lived in France for 15yrs with our stepmotherā¦now French laws state that my sister and i will benefit from 3/4 of his estate and stepmum a 1/4ā¦ we went over to talk about things and she informed us that we are only entitled to 22 and a half %ā¦now weāve had a major falling out with her as we asked for certain documents ie 3 months bank statements of dadsā¦his death certificate and will which we have been advised to getā¦now stepmum says that we shouldnāt need these as our only interest is dads property??? My dad only had a bank account in his own name and not a joint accountā¦surely her figures are wrong and that we are entitled to full estate which is moneyā¦property anything he ownedā¦there seems to be conflicting information where my stepmum is concernedā¦we have paperwork to arrive in England that we are to sign which will then free up dads assets as theyāre frozen at the momentā¦she also says that when she dies her family will inherit over 75% (her siblings) and that she will get an allowance which would come from our inheritanceā¦somethings not rightā¦can you give us any advice or information to help usā¦kind regards Rachael Palmer
Hi Rachael,
I got your message and Iām very sorry to hear about this situation.
Legally, according to French law, the least you and your sister are entitled to are 2/3 of everything your dad owned (that is if you are his only children). Which means his bank accounts as well as his property, and any asset he owned for that matter.
Before you sign anything, the notaire has to send you and your sister a copy of your dadās will.
Also, he might have not left a will āper seā but what we call a ādonation entre Ć©pouxā which is a kind of will between spouses. He might also have left both.
These are the very first information you have to get. It is the most important issue since it determines you and your sisterās rights.
Then you have to know your dad and stepmomās matrimonial regime because that is what determines each spouseās share of the assets.
Once you get these information Iāll be able to help you determine your rights. Please donāt hesitate to send emails on my personal address, Iāll be glad to help you (alxa.lefevre@gmail.com)
Kind regards
Thank you so much Alex this has helped and Iāll be in touchā¦kind regards Rachael